Abstract :
An effective method for teaching employees how to communicate in writing is for managers become writing mentors. Managers should not expect employees to have good writing skills because schools often fail to teach students how to write, and students often do not believe good writing is important in business. Orientation programs should: affirm that performance evaluations and advancement in a company will, in part, be based on good writing skills; communicate that a company will provide mentoring to improve skills; and indicate managers will be role models. The mentoring process should teach employees how to research a topic, complete a first draft, and rewrite.